The Top 10 Most In-Demand Tech Skills Right Now

September 8, 2016

11:00 am

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Job search application 500 Miles just released a report, using big data to figure out which skills were in the highest demand across 350,000 tech companies all over the world. The goal: to “provide deep insights that help you make more informed decisions about the skills you spend time acquiring.”

Here are the results:

The Skills

Here’s the list, from most in-demand to least:

c++

c

go

r

play

javascript

java

python

oracle

.net

Note that there’s a steep drop off after the top two, c and c++, and there’s another drop after python on the above list. Here’s a look at the same info in a different graph format, if that helps drive the point home.

The Takeaway

This doesn’t mean you should immediately find the nearest “c++ for dummies book,” though that can’t hurt. The data also revealed a few more facts that 500 Miles adds a further explanation for. First, they explain:

“New technologies, languages and frameworks like Go, R and Play are clearly in higher demand than the more traditional Java, Javascript, Python and PHP.”

Also, the next in-demand skill you develop might depend on what company you’re the most interested in:

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Adam is a writer at Tech.co and has worked as a tech writer, blogger and copy editor for the last decade. He's also a Forbes Contributor on the publishing industry (and Digital Book World 2018 award finalist) and has appeared in publications including Popular Mechanics and IDG Connect. When not glued to TechMeme, he loves obsessing over 1970s sci-fi art.